Sonora Indigenous Languages

Sonora is home to the Yaqui, a fiercely independent people that resisted the Mexican government for decades. Most Yaqui live along the Yaqui River in the communities of Potám, Huíviris, Torim, Cocorit, Bácum, Vicam, Rahúm, and Belem. If your ancestors came from one of these towns, you are probably of Yaqui descent. Today speakers of the Yaqui language number only about 14,000, 0.24% of the indigenous-speaking population. Nearly 96 percent of Yaquis live in Sonora.

The Yaqui are closely related to the Mayo; Yaqui and Mayo are mutually intelligible languages. Mayos make up 0.54 percent of indigenous speakers; roughly 75 percent live in Sonora; the rest live in Sinaloa.

Mexico Language and Languages

Most materials used in Mexican research are written in Spanish. However, you do not need to speak or read Spanish to do research in Mexican records. However, you will need to know some key words and phrases to understand the records.

The official language of Mexico is Spanish, which is spoken by 90 percent of the people. Indian languages of the Aztecs, Mayans, and other tribes are still spoken throughout the country. Originally there may have been more than 200 roots of native languages.

In 1889, Antonio García Cubas estimated that 38% of Mexicans spoke an indigenous language, down from 60% in 1820. By the end of the 20th century, this figure had fallen to 6%.

In the early history of Mexico after the Spanish conquest, the spiritual leaders knew Latin, and where schools were established, Latin was a required subject, so you may find some Latin terms included in church records.

Hundreds of native languages and dialects existed although very few written records survived the European conquest. Of these the Náuatl language, spoken by the Aztecs of the Central Plateau region, is predominant, followed by the Mayan of the Yucatan Peninsula and Northern Central America. The Zapoteco, Mixteco, and Otomi languages follow in importance.

In the early records a great many Indian words, especially names and localities, found their way into the Spanish language. Many of them were modified to make them more pronounceable to the Spanish conquerors.

Spanish phonetics may affect the way names appear in genealogical records. For example, the names of your ancestor may vary from record to record in Spanish. For help in understanding name variations, see Mexico Names, Personal.